Socorates

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The Trial of

Socrates

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In 399 B.C., a trial, one of the most famous;

The accused, Socrates, 70 years old,

Athenian greatest thinker and teacher,guilty ofimpiety; ofcorrupting the young.

Background

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490 B.C., the battle of Marathon;

Athens was turned into Athenian Empire;

Democracy flourished, Pericles;431-404 B.C., The Peloponnesian War;

399 B.C. the trial took place.

Background

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1. Picture of Socrates

Lived (469-399 B.C.)

The Golden Age Athens

Notoriously ugly

Quite character, impression

Father, sculptor S-mason

Mother a midwife

Wife, Xanthippe, younger

Nagging, shrewish

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Picture of Socrates

Wrote nothing;

Xenophon (428-354), Memorabilla

Aristophanes (450-388), The Clouds

Aristotle (384-322) important comments

Platos 25 some dialogues (Immortalize S)

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He did not Write: Why?

Phaedrus

The invention of Writing, imporve intellect

Enhance power of memory

Write down, refer to, smarter

Socrates disputes, weaken our memory

Writing, an external device, not remember

Not smarter, but dumber, more dependent E

Cannot descriminate; misinterpretation

The Author is not present

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Inventor of Dialog

Socrates prefers face to face conversation

Living speech, writing: dead speech

Dialegesthai, to have a conversation

The invetor of dialogue

Look in the eye and communicate

spoon-feeding teaching method,

dialogue -- questions and answers

In the give and take of conversation

Socratic Method

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Socratic Method

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2. Picture of Socrates

Rather odd-looking man,

A strange figure

Wandered around Athens,

AGORA, the marketplace

The town center (lots of

people)Invite people into dialogues

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What Talked About?

In the time of Socrates,

investigation into nature

stopped,and philosophersturned away to studying

the virtue that is relevant

to the conduct oflife.--------- Aristotle

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What is it Question

Socrates interested in Arte, virtue, excellence

Famous forWhat is it Question

What is virtue, justice, moderation,beauty?

He was seeking definitions

Socratic Questions

First step in knowledge is to define words

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Philosophical Mission

Chaerephon consulted the Delphic Oracle,

If anyone was wiser than Socrates.

None was wiser.

Not feeling wise, Socrates the wise menStatesmen, poets, artisans, and others

He did NOT find them wise.

The pursuit of wisdom Socrates full-time job

I know that I know nothing.

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What is it Question

Assume an Answer

What is justice, can be answered

Seeking a definition of justice

Cover all the particular instances of justiceSocrates: all particular instances justice unified

A universal justice explain particular instances

An anti-relativistic questionNo relativist,not a sophist,

Asking the question, he argue against sophists

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3. More Complete Picture of

Socrates

Strange looking, sounding man

Wandering around the AGORA of AthensAsking strange what is it questions

Like What is justice, piety, good, ?

Why Athenian democracy executed him?

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Athenian Hostility to Socrates

The Pelopponesion War (431-404 B.C.), Bitter

404-399, Athens was in terrible chaos

The Thirty Tyrants, (terror,Athens, 404-403 B.C)

Critias, the most damage, Socrates student

Alcibiades, democracy ackowledged folly

Athenians find scapegoat (

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Athenian Hostility to Socrates

Socrates was a most annoying figure

Philosophy was perceived as a threat

What is it question

Shake the foundation of the world view

Subversive(

) activity

Philosopher and massive people

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Hostility: Socratic Method

This indirect method of searching for the truth

Conversational partners, puzzlement,

unhappiness.

puzzled and frustrated

forced to believe and admit ignorant of

they knew perfectly well

and that the principles they lived thereunable to withstand close intellectual scrutiny.

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Socrates VS Democracy

Socrates speaking sharply about democracy.

Most people arent terribly thoughtful or

analytical, so why should most people, that is,the majority, make the life and deathdecisions that affect the polis?

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Hostility:The Clouds by

Aristophanes

The Cloudproduced in 423 B.C.

Socrates a danger to A traditional society

Presented as a cynical sophist

For a fee, he offers instruction

His Thinking Shop to his pupils

By using the Protagorean technique

Good argument bad, bad argument good

A son has the right to beat his parents

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Socrates daemonion

"This sign I have had ever since I was a

child. The sign is a voice which comes to

me and always forbids me to dosomething which I am going to do, but

never commands me to do anything..."

Plato's Apology

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The Trial

WHEN: In Spring 399BC.

WHERE: a large, public building

Took place on one day- 9/10 hours.

500 jurors at the trial.

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Things to know

The prosecution always spoke first.

General public allowed (gather made outbursts.

A water clock measure time allowed speeches.

Juries ranged from 200 2500.

Jurors, a citizen, at least 30 years old.Jury service was voluntary.

Received jury pay.

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The Accusers

1. Meletus- A young poet or son of a poet.

- Pinned up the notice charging Socrates.

- Chief prosecutor.- Thought Socrates was an atheist.

2. Lycon

3. Anytus-well-known democratic politician.

-Instigator () of the charges.

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The Charges

IMPIETY (a very vague notion

CORRUPTINGthe minds of the young

Difficult to prove, and equally difficult to refute

An extremely serious crime

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Instead of weeping, pleading,Parading his children in front of the jury

like the standard procedure Athens,

Socrates, according to Plato, took the position

that the best defense was a strong offense.

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Defense

Using the question-and-answer method

for which he was famous

had apparently gotten him into trouble,

he defended for himself

and also pointing out the inconsistencies

in his accusers allegations.

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PlatosApology

Meletus : Let me ask you this, why dontyou say all right, Socrates, we know

these are trumped-up ()charges, but we

are tired of your going around and

harassing us like this, arent you ashamedof living such a life that everybody in

Athens hates you?

Soc: No, I am not ashamed. I took on this

mission from God, and what would make

me ashamed is if I stop doing it.

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PlatosApology

Meletus :Well, I tell you well,

Socrates. If you will stop doing it, we will

drop these charges.

Soc: I am not going to do that. I am

going to continue. As long as I live, I amgoing to go around and question, and

follow the truth wherever it is.

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PlatosApology

Meletus :All right, Socrates, if youare so smart, why arent you in

politics?

Soc: Well, I am gonna tell you why.

Because no honest man can survive inyour democracy. It is so corrupt.

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Soc: Now what you expect me to do at this

stage is to bring in my wife and children.

Thats standard in Athenian trial. You bring in

your wife and children and you say, Look, if

you put me to death, it is going to rob myfamily of all support, and the children are

supposed to cry and the wife is supposed to cry,

and you are thus humiliated. That is part of the

purpose of the trial.

PlatosApology

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PlatosApology

Soc: You know that I am not going to bring

them in. Yes, Ive got children and a wife, but I

am not going to bring them in. That has nothingto do with the trial whatsoever. It is for you to

make your decision. But I tell you this, I will

continue my mission.

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Vote: (280 to 220) lost by about thirty votes.

Meletus, proposed the penalty of death.

Guilt Phase of Trial

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After the verdict of guilty or not guilty,

the jury had to vote AGAIN but thistime

to choose between the prosecutor anddefendants proposed penalty

Usually the proposed penalties were to

suffer or exile

Penalty Phase of Trial

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Athenian procedure called for convicted

defendants to recommend an alternative penalty,

Socrates accusers expected him to proposeexile

would have been quite content him leave town.

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However, Socrates claimed that he was in

fact a public benefactor, suggesting first a

reward for his benefactions ()free meals in the Prytaneum.

The jury, annoyed, elected the death

penalty. (360: 140)

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Summary of main points by Socrates:

Origins of unpopularity Denial that he is a sophist His activities

Reply to accusers

Cross-examination of Meletus His obligation to Apollo

Benefits to the city

Attitude to public affairs in democratic Athens

Reasons for not making pitiful appeals Verdict

Penalty proposed

Penalty pronounced and reaction

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Socrates first put prison

wait for return of vessel

a small band of his pupils

gathered around him

even arranged for

everythingfor the masters escape.

In the Prison

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Socrates, we have arranged everything.

You can escape, go to the city of Thebes,and there receive hospitality.

I am not going to escape, I am going to

stay right here. If I were to escape afterhaving been found legally guilty, that

would set a bad example. I am going to

obey the law.And so the young people

will not be corruptedby my example.

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Claiming that his whole lifea search for

absolute truthshad been a preparation

for death.

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The Trial of Socrates

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He has sent away his wife and children,and some of his students are weeping and

he says the words I gave in an earlierlecture,

I sent my wife away and now here you

are, worse than women, weeping like this.Stop it! What is bad? I am going to die.My whole life has been a preparation fordeath, preparing myself so that my soul

will be free.

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In the words of Plato, such was the endof the man who, of all the men of ourtime, was the best, the wisest, and the

most just.

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In the end, Socrates was executed

by one of customary Athenian methods,

poisonous draft ofhemlock.

By the words of his Apology,

(Plato) condemnation of the Athenian

democracyput to death the best man of that age,

whole life had been a search for wisdom.

Death of Socrates

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Death of Socrates

The hour of departure has arrived, and

we go our ways----I die, and you to live.

Which to the better fate is known only toGod.

------Socrates

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p32

Platos Apology

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The Apology

Know that if you kill me, I being such

a man as I say I am, you will not injure

me so much as yourselves; for

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Just as Jesus needed the cross to fulfill

his mission, Socrates needed his hemlock

to fulfill his.---- I. F. Stone

Interpretation of Socrates Death

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Influence

The death inspired writers, artists and

philosophers in the modern world

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The wisest and mostjustof all men

(Plato)

A voluntary action motivated by a greaterpurpose.


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Socrates saw himself as healing the

citys ills by his voluntary death.

------Waterfield

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Socrates, with his unconventional

methods, attempted to resolve the political

confusion in Athens. Therefore, he was

willing to serve as a scapegoat, so thatAthens could set aside old disputes and

move forward in a new, more harmonious

direction.

----------Waterfield

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For some, the execution of the man (W,J)

has shown the unreliability or

undesirability of democratic rule.For others, the Athenians' action was a

justifiable defense of their recently re-

established democracy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I._F._Stonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I._F._Stone

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Socrates wanted to be sentenced to death

in order to justify his opposition to the

Athenian democracy, and that Socratesfelt that old age would be unpleasant

anyway.

-----I. F. Stone


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Thank You!

Lecturer: Wu Shiyu

Email: [email protected]

Webiste: http://sla.sjtu.edu.cn/bbs
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

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Socorates